Editorial: Safety takes a back seat

Friday, Oct. 30, 1998 | 11:54 a.m.

In the past week the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission have demonstrated once again that they have little respect for the public health of the citizens of Nevada.

In the first instance, the DOE wanted to stop the Environmental Protection Agency's independent monitoring that determines whether there is radiation in the air and ground water near the Nevada Test Site. The DOE eventually dropped the plan, but only after the EPA protested.

As the Sun's Mary Manning reported, the EPA's Radiation and Indoor Environmental National Laboratory in Las Vegas was worried about the loss of public confidence if adequate measurements weren't taken. EPA scientists are especially concerned about plutonium particles that can become airborne through dust from Nevada's strong winds.

It's troubling, to say the least, that the DOE would even consider dropping independent testing.

In the second example of an agency showing its disdain for safety, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission believes it should be setting the radiation standards for Yucca Mountain, the proposed dump for the nation's high-level nuclear waste. Under law the NRC is supposed to license a high-level nuclear waste dump, but the EPA is the agency that has the power to set the health and environmental standards.

EPA Administrator Carol Browner sent a letter to NRC Chairwoman Shirley Ann Jackson last Friday expressing her "deep concern" for the NRC-suggested radiation level. Browner asked Jackson not to confuse the public by issuing its own standards. As if it isn't obvious already, it's pretty clear that the NRC is overstepping its bounds, setting aside science and instead aiming to lower standards just enough so that the dump gets built.

While the NRC is the agency in charge of licensing a nuclear waste dump, the DOE is the agency that is responsible for the feasibility testing, and the DOE also has a long way to go if it's to gain public confidence after years of disregarding sound scientific evidence of what a folly Yucca Mountain is.

To be fair, the new secretary of energy, Bill Richardson, seems to be committed to the same level of openness that his predecessor, Federico Pena, had in managing the department. But in the federal government change is next to impossible in agencies such as the NRC and the DOE, as career bureaucrats can thwart attempts at fairness.

The thread running through these events of the past week is that too often governmental agencies seek a short-sighted solution that turns a blind eye to protecting the public health. Not only is it bad public policy, it also fosters the public's distrust of governmental institutions. The DOE and NRC could probably take a lesson from the EPA, which understands that its mission is to serve the public, not harm it.